The simple honesty in his voice makes my heart stutter.
“Me too,” I whisper.
“Come on,”Ryder says, his voice dropping to a lower register, making my insides turn to liquid. “Let’s play a game.”
His hand engulfs mine, and before I realize what is happening, he’s leading me through the crowd to the back of the room where a line of dart boards are mounted along the wall.
“I’ve never really played darts before.”
Ryder’s lips curve into a slow, dangerous smile. “Perfect. Then I can teach you.”
The way he says it—like he’s planning something wicked—makes my pulse race.
Plucking four darts from the board, he weighs them in his palm as he turns to me. “It’s all about stance and follow-through.”
“I’m wearing heels,” I protest weakly.
“I noticed.” His eyes rake down my body, lingering on my legs before flicking back up. “Trust me, they’re not going to be a problem.”
He positions me in front of the line marked on the floor, then moves behind me. The heat of his body engulfs me right off the bat as his chest presses against my back, allowing me to feel every hard plane of muscle.
“Now. You’re going to hold it like this,” he murmurs, his breath hot against my ear as he places a dart in my hand. His fingers close around mine, adjusting my grip. “Not too tight.”
I swallow hard, trying to focus on the weight of the dart and not his proximity.
“Now, pull back...” One hand guides mine, while the other settles on my hip. “And release.”
I throw the dart, but I’m so distracted that it veers wildlyoff course, missing the board entirely, bouncing off the brick and falling to the floor.
“Oops,” I laugh nervously.
“Let’s try again.” He shifts but doesn’t move away. If anything, he presses in closer, aligning his hips with mine.
The dart flies out of my hand, landing nowhere near the bullseye. I barely notice, too distracted by the way his thumb is now making slow circles on my hip.
“Again,” he orders, his voice a rumble vibrating over my body.
He hands over another dart, but this time when I pull my arm back, his lips brush against the sensitive spot just below my ear, and I almost drop it.
“Focus, kitten,” he chuckles, his stubble grazing my neck. “Keep your eyes on the target.”
When his hand slides from my hip to splay across my stomach, pulling me even tighter against him, I can feel his rigid cock pressing into my lower back.
“Ryder,” I breathe, my voice embarrassingly shaky.
“Mmmm?” His innocent tone doesn’t match how his thumb is tracing the underside of my breast through my dress.
“You’re slow-burning me again.”
His low chuckle sends another wave of heat straight to my core. “Is that what I’m doing?”
I try to turn, but he holds me firmly in place, tightening his grip.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he warns. “We’re not done with your lesson quite yet. You’ll get your reward soon enough.”
The next dart flies even wider than the others, clattering to the floor as my concentration completely dissolves under his touch.
“Pretty sure I’m a lost cause,” I sigh dramatically, leaningback against his solid chest and turning my head slightly so I can look up at him.
